The Big Bear Commitment Determination
by Tondelaya
Summary: Amy and Sheldon have been happily married for years but when Amy finds out about Sheldon's secret, she decides to take a step back and reevaluate their relationship. Will their marriage survive or will their separation continue indefinitely? Sequel to the fanfics Love Leads to Isolation and The New Year's Resolution. Not necessary to read those first but feel free!
1. Chapter 1

**This story is a continuation of my earlier stories Love Leads to Isolation and The New Year's Resolution. It is not necessary to read those first, but please feel free if you like!**

 **The inspiration for this story came from two Shamy scenes that have always stayed with me. One from The Big Bear Precipitation episode and one from The Commitment Determination episode.**

 **Enjoy and so sorry for all the angst. Hang in there!**

 **Disclaimer: TBBT characters are not mine.**

* * *

Amy began to shiver slightly from the cold. She gingerly reached over her chest to replace the fallen afghan she had wrapped around her shoulders. She was very careful in her movements as to not spill the mug of hot chamomile tea in her hands. 'Correction', she thought as she took a small sip. The mug of tepid chamomile tea currently in her hands.

'How long have I been sitting here?' she pondered. Amy looked down at her watch. "Oh my!" she said out loud. Amy set her mug down on the coffee table and moved her feet out from under her. With a groan, she set them on the floor and rose to stretch in front of the cozy brown suede sofa.

She looked to her left to check on the fire in the large beautiful fire place. Yep, still burning brightly. Amy was reminded of the time, so many years ago, when her two favorite physicists began formulating a plan to start a fire in that very same fireplace. They had gone on and on about the laws of basic thermodynamics when all it took was her "bestie" simply flipping a switch to set the logs ablaze. Amy smiled as she recalled their forlorn faces. She always loved it when Penny was able to 'show up' the two male scientists with her no-nonsense ways.

Amy's smile faded as she pulled the multi-colored afghan tighter and stood in front of the fire. Would she ever warm up? She knew she had lost too much weight recently making her feel colder. Her normal every day skirts were far too loose and Amy had to wear a belt just to keep them from falling off her. Excessive stress will do that to someone.

Amy crossed the room to stretch her legs and looked out the window. It was late and pitch black outside although she could hear rain falling gently on the roof. Another night alone. Another night without…Amy couldn't even bear to think his name.

She moved back to the sofa again and stretched out retrieving her small laptop from the coffee table. She opened it and tried to resume working on her research paper but she couldn't stop thinking about another document. Amy clicked on the unsigned document she had been reading earlier as it glowed on the screen. It was simply titled, The Separation Agreement.

 _Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper, hereinafter referred to as "Spouse 1", and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler-Cooper, hereinafter referred to as "Spouse 2" agree to the following:_

 _Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 were lawfully married May 2018 in Pasadena, California. Because certain problems have developed between Spouse 1 and Spouse 2, they hereby agree to live separately and apart, subject to the terms and conditions as set forth below._

Amy read through the terms that she had spent hours and hours agonizing over and stopped on the final one -

 _This agreement is intended to be a final disposition of the matters addressed herein and may be used as evidence and incorporated into a final decree of divorce or dissolution_.

Amy closed her laptop with a loud clap and squeezed her eyes shut. Just when she thought she was all cried out, the silent tears began to flow through her closed eyelids. She removed her glasses and wiped her eyes with her hands.

Amy heard a chime from her laptop and opened it again. She wiped her eyes one more time, replaced her glasses and answered the call. A teenage girl appeared on the screen.

"Hi Mom" she said standing in what appeared to be a dorm room. She was tall and thin with dark straight hair, beautiful alabaster skin and a mouth full of braces.

"Hi Sweetie" Amy replied. "Is everything okay?" she asked. She had just talked with her daughter yesterday.

"Oh, I guess" Marie replied. "I was really just calling to check on you way out there in the boonies" she teased.

"Well, I wouldn't call it the boonies" Amy said. "Maybe twenty years ago yes, but other than a few "dead" spots on the way here, this place is just as up-to-date on technology as anywhere".

"Well, that's good otherwise we wouldn't be talking now would we" Marie teased again. "How was your day Mom?" she asked with trepidation in her voice.

"Uh, fine" Amy said as she plastered a fake smile on her face. "It was fine." Trying to change the subject Amy started asking her daughter about her day. Marie, being a typical teenage girl wrapped up in her own world, took the bait and began telling Amy a funny story about her roommates finding a lizard loose in the dorm room and how Marie was the only one not afraid to pick it up and put it outside.

Amy smiled. That's my biologist, she thought.

Amy listened as Marie told her more about her roommates and her school. She was spending the fall semester of her junior year of high school studying abroad at Oxford in England. At only fifteen, Marie Constance Cooper, was one of the youngest students as part of the exchange program but also one of the brightest.

Marie had skipped a couple of years of school due to her high intelligence, and though young, Amy knew she was ready for the adventure. She reminded Amy of herself in so many ways but in addition to being smart she was also funny and very socially mature for her age. Thanks in part to having a great Uncle Leonard and Aunt Penny. Amy could never thank her best friends enough for their influence on her children. Yes, even Penny's influence. Although Amy sometimes wasn't always grateful when Penny gave advice to Marie on matters of the opposite sex.

As Marie chattered on, Amy sighed. She missed her daughter greatly. She had no idea she would feel so sad when she agreed to let her go to England for a semester. Perhaps it was the timing of it all. Her son Elliot had just left for college at seventeen this past fall. She wasn't planning on him leaving so soon but he was just as intelligent as her daughter and when he discovered he had all of the credits needed to graduate high school, he was too excited to wait another year.

Elliot Stephen Cooper was attending her Alma mater, Harvard University, studying pre-med. Amy missed him terribly and in all honesty worried more about her son than she worried about her little girl. Thankfully, Elliot seemed to be holding his own in his first semester at college but he wasn't as mature and socially adept as his sister. He reminded her more of...Amy frowned.

"Mom? Mom?" Marie's worried voice sliced through Amy's thoughts.

"Yes" Amy replied.

"What is it Mom?" she said.

"What is what?" Amy said confused.

"Mom, you look like you are about to cry. Was it something I said?" Marie asked cautiously. "I was very careful not to mention Da…" Marie cut off looking down before she finished the word.

Amy plastered on her fake smile again for her daughter. "Marie, I'm fine. Really. You do not need to avoid mentioning your Dad." Amy cleared her throat. "How is he? Have you talked with him recently?" she said through the teeth of her fake smile.

"Um, yes" Marie replied hesitantly. "Actually, I just spoke with last night."

"Oh" Amy said fighting to keep her smile. "You didn't tell him where I was, did you?" Amy asked with concern.

"No, of course not Mom. You made me promise not to" Marie frowned.

"Oh. Okay, thank you Sweetie" Amy exhaled a breath. "Um, how is he?" Amy asked again trying to keep her fake smile

Marie sighed loudly and appeared unsure as to how to proceed with the conversation.

"I'm not going to lie Mom" she said finally. "You taught me better than that. Honestly, Dad is not doing well. He looks terrible. Like he hadn't showered or shaved in days. And he looked even skinnier than normal. Mom, Dad misses you. When are you coming home?" she finally asked.

Amy could not hold her smile any longer. She turned her head away from the screen and gasped as she held back her tears. She would not burden her daughter any more than absolutely necessary with her parent's current situation. Amy composed herself and looked back at the screen.

"Marie. I need some time. Your father" Amy gulped "and I are just going through a difficult time right now."

"Mom" Marie pleaded again.

"Marie. Please stop" Amy sighed. "I don't what you to worry about that okay? You have to focus on your studies. Now, tell me more about your biology course" Amy continued.

Marie frowned but turned the conversation back to school and her studies. Amy talked with her daughter for another ten minutes and then ended the call when Marie needed to leave for her first early morning class.

After closing her laptop, Amy yawned and decided to head to bed. As she moved through the room turning off lamps she couldn't help but marvel again at how the Big Bear Lake cabin had barely changed over the years.

It had been over twenty years since she had last seen it but almost everything was still the same. Amy still could not believe it when Penny had said the same cabin of her old doctor friend was available when Amy desperately needed a place to be alone to think, a place away from…. Amy closed her eyes as she moved to turn off the fireplace and then moved the bedroom.

Ah, the bedroom. She was staying in the one that Penny and Leonard stayed in the last time they were here. She just couldn't bring herself to set foot in the other bedroom.

Amy got ready for bed and crawled under the layers of blankets and turned off the light. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide open. Her stomach growled slightly and she realized she had forgotten to eat dinner. Again.

Amy was glad she got to talk with her daughter and made a mental note to reach out to Elliot tomorrow just to check in on him. He was having a rough time dealing with this situation as emotions were not his strong suit. She wanted him to know that she was okay. In other words, she would lie. Oh, well, she thought. A mother protects her children.

Amy was most certainly not okay. Amy closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but every time she did, the horrific images of the night when it all fell apart came back to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Amy closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep but every time she did, the horrific images of the night when it all fell apart came back to her.**

* * *

It was October, the night of the announcement for that year's Nobel Prize winner in Physics. As a member of the Academy and past prize recipient, Sheldon was finishing his final appointment year on the nomination committee. As such, he was required to be available to be part of the announcement of the winner.

Amy had been through many ceremonial events presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences over the years and she relished the opportunity to converse with some of the greatest scientific minds of our generation. Given her many contributions to science, she was easily accepted into the "club" of the elite. However she also knew at certain times, like tonight, she was expected to play her part as the supportive spouse of a Nobel Prize winner. Not always an easy task but Amy tried her best.

When the announcement presentation was over, she and Sheldon quietly went to their Stockholm hotel room too exhausted to even express excitement over the winner this year. Truth be told, Amy was more excited about her planned stop in England on their way home to visit their daughter Marie. It had only been six weeks since she left to study at Oxford but she missed her tremendously. Amy planned on leaving first thing in the morning and Sheldon would catch up in a few days after his committee duties in Sweden were fulfilled.

As they began to move around the hotel room, Sheldon shrugged out of his jacket and let out a heavy sigh. He placed his cell phone and hotel key on the dresser.

"Amy" he began as he looked at his reflection in the mirror to remove his tie. "I am not really sleepy yet. My internal time clock is quite disrupted due to the jag lag. I think I will go downstairs for a while, alright?" he asked.

Sheldon continued to stare at the mirror. He had the same empty look in his eyes that Amy had grown accustom to lately.

"Are you sure Sheldon?" Amy questioned.

Although she was a little jag lagged herself, she didn't really want to be alone. She had hoped perhaps in a beautiful hotel, far away from the distractions of home, she and husband might spend some, well, some "quality time" together in the bedroom.

It had been far too long since they had last been intimate and she missed him. She missed the intimacy and closeness of being with Sheldon. It had gotten to the point they were almost like strangers. It had been a difficult year from them. Sheldon had not been himself for a long time.

Sheldon's beloved mother Mary passed away right after the New Year. She had lived a good long life but it was still a very difficult thing for him to lose someone so important to him. His mother was always there for him and their relationship was special. Mary was Sheldon's biggest fan yet she was not afraid to show him some tough love when he needed it the most.

Sheldon had a complicated relationship with his father who had died when Sheldon was very young. Mary had never remarried after Sheldon's dad died. She said she had been too busy focusing on her kids and then work at the church but she had once confided in Amy she really felt it was because a love like theirs only happened once in a lifetime. Amy liked to think that was the kind of love that she and Sheldon had now. Amy missed Mary greatly.

After his mother's death, Sheldon retreated into himself. He was still present physically for the kids and even made time to hang out with the guys, but he just wasn't engaged. At all. Sheldon was never shy about inserting himself into a conversation with a fun fact or tidbit of obscure information. This year; however, more often than not Sheldon was content to quietly sit back and let others do the talking. Amy had been worried about him for months.

Amy's worry was compounded in August when Elliot left for college and Marie left for her semester abroad leaving just the two of them again. Amy had visions of them resuming their life prior to children. Time spent together exploring new cities, trying new things, or simply cooking together and snuggling on the couch watching movies. Instead she and Sheldon moved around each other like roommates or even worse, more like strangers, in their own home.

It seemed now that the kids were away, Sheldon wasn't even trying to pretend anymore. Amy knew he was a fan of homeostasis and despised change. It seemed that the kids leaving home on top of the passing of his mom was simply too much of a change for him.

Sheldon began pouring himself into his work spending long hours working on campus and at home. Even after winning a Nobel Prize in Physics, he never stopped working towards proving the unprovable. In the world of theoretical physics, you never finish. Amy was trying to be supportive but her patience was growing thin. Sheldon had displayed this same type of behavior before but she had thought those days were behind them.

Many years ago, during their first year of marriage, Sheldon had retreated into his work with no reprieve for months. He was relentless about publishing their theory on super asymmetry and completely ignored Amy. Fortunately, before any true damage was done, Sheldon realized that no matter how important science and work were in his life; love was the most important thing.

Since that time, Sheldon had been committed to never taking Amy or their marriage for granted again. He was a devoted husband and father and they had been very happy together. Although, Sheldon continued his work with great passion, he also made time for his wife and family. Unfortunately, it seems he may have forgotten the lesson he learned all of those years ago. Amy was hoping she could remind him now.

"Are you sure?" Amy asked Sheldon again when he did not answer the first time. She was trying to be supportive but she was hurting too.

"Yes. I promise I will not be long" he finally responded as he grabbed the hotel key and kissed her gently on the check. "You get some rest. You have got a big day tomorrow traveling to England."

Amy nodded and Sheldon, with that same vacant look in his eyes, left the room shuffling out the door.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of tossing and turning, Amy gave up trying to fall asleep. She got up and dressed and headed downstairs to find Sheldon. If they both couldn't sleep, at least they could stay awake together, she thought.

Amy made her way downstairs to the beautiful lobby thinking Sheldon may have opted to sit quietly on the sofas by the fireplace. He wasn't there. She peaked inside the restaurant thinking he may have wanted a late night snack. Nothing. Finally, she made her way to the bar area on the off chance Sheldon may have stopped in for a drink. Sure enough, she saw him sitting at the bar counter, drink in hand. It was clear from the condensation on the glass he had been nursing the drink for a while.

Sheldon didn't drink often. Later in his life, Sheldon's father developed a problem with alcohol and Sheldon never wanted to follow in his footsteps. Sheldon had many good memories of his dad but he also remembered that his dad had made some bad choices too, like when when he cheated on his mom. Amy knew that bad choice affected Sheldon more than he cared to admit. However, she also knew that Sheldon never hurt her in that way.

Amy began to walk toward the counter but stopped when she saw a women approach Sheldon from behind. The woman placed her hand on his shoulder and spun him around to face her. Sheldon stood and embraced the woman and she hugged him back. Sheldon offered her the bar stool next to him and they both sat down. Sheldon flagged down the bartender to take the woman's drink order. He looked back toward the woman and he was…he was…smiling. Amy hadn't seen Sheldon smile in a very long time.

Amy stood frozen in her spot in the bar staring at them. The bartender placed a drink in front of the woman and she and Sheldon picked up their glasses, toasted and took a drink. The woman leaned into Sheldon and spoke something into his ear. Then they were…they were…laughing. If Amy was surprised to see Sheldon smile, she was flabbergasted to see him laugh.

Amy blinked and forced her feet to carry her closer to the counter where the pair were sitting. There was something so familiar about the woman Amy thought as she moved closer and closer. She was tall and blond. She looked to be a little younger than Amy but had some wrinkles showing when she laughed. Who was this mystery woman who had embraced her husband, made him smile and laugh and was now sharing an intimate drink with him in a hotel bar?

Finally Amy reached the couple and stood directly behind Sheldon. From this angle Amy could finally get a good look at the woman facing her. Oh my god! Amy's mind screamed. It couldn't be her. But it was. NO!

"Dr. Fowler!" the woman stammered as she quickly rose from the bar stool. "I mean, Dr. Fowler-Cooper" she corrected trying to calm her voice down. "It's been a long time. It's so nice to see you" she finished with a half-hearted smile.

"Hello Ramona" Amy said calmly purposefully neglecting to address Dr. Nowitzki by her title.

Sheldon jumped up from his stool almost knocking it over as he turned quickly to face the most enraged expression he had ever seen on his wife.


	3. Chapter 3

" **Hello Ramona" Amy said calmly purposefully neglecting to address Dr. Nowitzki by her title.**

 **Sheldon jumped up from his stool almost knocking it over as he turned quickly to face the most enraged expression he had ever seen on his wife.**

* * *

"Amy!" Sheldon said as his voice cracked high. "I thought you were upstairs asleep" he said as he lowered his voice to a more normal level.

"Couldn't sleep" Amy replied simply calming down her expression. "What are you two up to this evening?" she asked nonchalantly as she settled down on the bar stool on the other side of Sheldon and flagged down the bartender.

Amy was in shock at seeing Sheldon with "her". But while she shook with fury on the inside, she looked cool as a cucumber on the outside. Or at least she tried her best to appear that way as she ordered a strong drink.

Sheldon and Ramona sat down again and Sheldon took a drink. He had to clear his throat before he spoke. Amy didn't believe his hesitation in speech was due to the alcohol.

"Oh well, as you know I could not sleep and came downstairs" Sheldon began. "I came into the bar for a moment and ran into Dr. Nowitzki. We were just catching up" he grinned sheepishly.

"Yes" Ramona jumped into the conversation. "Just catching up. What's it been Dr. Cooper? Two years?" she questioned with a hint of feigned innocence.

"Two years!" Amy squeaked out as she turned her head to look at Sheldon.

Sheldon's head swung back and forth between the two women sitting on either side of him. The expression "a deer caught in headlights" came to Amy's mind.

"I don't understand Sheldon. I thought you two hadn't seen each other since before we were married" Amy questioned as her cool facade began to fade. In her mind, she was really thinking since before this "Nowitzki broad" blatantly tried to steal you from me.

Amy quickly took a drink from the glass the bartender had placed in front of her. She needed to try and calm her nerves.

Sheldon opened his mouth to speak but Ramona jumped in again.

"Oh no" Ramona said grinning. "We've seen each other many times over the years. Not to mention our many correspondences. The world of theoretical physics is such a small world, isn't it?" she finished with a small laugh.

Amy's mouth gaped open and then shut. She had been looking at Ramona but then she fixed her eyes on Sheldon. His mouth was closed and in a firm line. She stared at him. Her expression no longer rage or blase' but hurt. Deep unabashed hurt.

Her bottom lip quivered slightly and she knew if she didn't get out of there soon she would either scream or cry or both. Either way, she didn't want to give either of them the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

Amy looked away from Sheldon, took a deep breath and wrapped both hands tightly around her glass.

"Yes. It is a small world" she said calmly and lifted the glass to her lips.

Amy finished her drink in one swallow ignoring the burning sensation caused by the alcohol sliding down her throat. She put her glass back down on the counter with a little too much force and stood up.

"Well" she paused unable to stop herself from glaring at both of them. "You two have fun "catching up" she said with a high dose of sarcasm through her clenched teeth.

Before Sheldon or Ramona could react, Amy had spun on her heels and quickly walked out of the bar.

Sheldon could do nothing but watch as his wife vanished from his view.

* * *

Amy raced back upstairs afraid Sheldon might be following her. Once in the hotel room, she quickly dialed her phone and pressed it to her ear as she frantically paced back and forth in front of the bed.

"Come on" she pleaded out loud "Come on".

"Hello?" a voice finally answered.

"Leonard" Amy said.

"Amy?" Leonard replied. "Why are you calling from Sweden? Isn't it nighttime there? And why are you calling me and not Penny?" he questioned. "Is everything okay?"

"No" Amy answered. "Everything is not okay" she choked out desperate to keep from crying. She had to get through this call.

"Oh god, what's wrong?" Leonard asked. "Is it Sheldon?"

"Yes" Amy squeaked.

"Oh no" Leonard really sounded worried now. "Is he hurt? Is he…"Leonard trailed off.

"Not yet" Amy said "but that depends on your answer" she said angrily.

"What?" he said confused. "Answer to what?" he asked.

"Your answer to the question of did you know that Sheldon had seen Dr. Ramona Nowitzki since we had been married?" she asked.

Amy heard Leonard gasp.

"Did you know Leonard? Did you know that he had seen her not just once but _many_ times?" she asked putting the emphasis on the word "many".

Amy did not hear anything coming over the phone.

"And did you know that he had corresponded with her many times too? Amy asked.

"Leonard?" she asked frustrated.

"Well, technically Amy" Leonard began "that is three questions so…"

"LEONARD!" Amy yelled loudly into the phone.

"Okay, okay!" Leonard yelled back.

Amy wasn't sure but she thought she heard him take a quick puff from his ever present inhaler.

"Leonard" Amy tried again and softened her tone. "Please. You are his best friend but I am his wife. I need to know. It's important" she said quietly.

"Fine" Leonard said. "Yes. I knew."

Amy gasped loudly through the phone. She reached blindly for the bed behind her and sat down.

"I'm so sorry Amy. I never meant to keep secrets from you but, well, we didn't want to upset you" he pleaded.

"I promise, nothing bad is going between them. Just science, that's all. They are in the same field and well, they run into each other from time to time at conferences and events and sometimes correspond with each professionally. Nothing more" he finished.

"I see" Amy said coldly.

She was in shock. Absolute shock. If she had not seen them with her own eyes, she might have believed Leonard. But she had seem them. Their encounter most definitely did not look professional tonight.

"Amy, why are you asking me this?" Leonard asked.

He looked at his watch. He was going to be late to teach his next class but that couldn't be helped. Something was really wrong here and his best friend needed him.

"Because I saw them tonight! They were hugging and laughing and drinking in a hotel bar after Sheldon had thought I was in the room asleep" Amy blurted out.

"WHAT!" Leonard yelled. "Are you sure?" he said lowering his voice as others in the classroom hallway started looking at him.

"Yes, of course I'm sure." Amy took a breath bracing herself to ask the next question.

"How long Leonard?" she asked.

"How long has he been…"Amy paused unsure of what to say "been in contact with her" she asked trying to find the right words.

There was a long pause then Leonard finally spoke.

"Ten years Amy" he said bluntly.

Amy gasped again. 'Oh my god, ten years! Ten years of betrayal!' her mind was swimming. It was a good thing she had sat down. She thought she might actually faint.

Leonard continued. "Sheldon and I ran into Ramona at a conference ten years ago. She was married at the time and we actually ended up meeting her husband there. Sheldon didn't see any harm in talking with her again and since she was married, neither did I. He wanted to tell you about seeing her. I mean you know how honest Sheldon is. Honest to a fault really but I convinced him that it might upset you and he should just leave it alone. He agreed. I didn't find out until just a couple of years ago that he had maintained contact with her. I thought it was a one-time occurrence. I swear, Amy, if I had known that he was going to continue…"

"What do you mean 'married at the time'" Amy asked interrupting him.

"Well" Leonard cleared his throat "from what Sheldon told me, um, I think she got divorced some time ago" he finished.

"I see" Amy said again. "Well that explains a lot" she said matter-of-factly.

Dr. Ramona Nowitzki was still after Sheldon, Amy surmised. That bitch!

"What can I do?" Leonard pleaded. He felt absolutely terrible for having any part in causing trouble for his friends. "How can I help?" he asked again.

"Does Penny know?" Amy asked hesitantly.

A betrayal from her best friend on top of her husband was just too much to bear, she thought.

"No, she has absolutely no idea" he said strongly.

Amy exhaled. At least someone was still on her side.

"Amy, I am so sorry again for keeping this secret but you can't honestly believe that there is anything funny going on between them. I mean Sheldon loves you. He had his chance with Ramona not once, but twice before actually. Back before you were engaged and back when she was a grad student. Every time he turned her down. Even if for some bizarre reason she was still interested in him, why would now be any different?" he reasoned trying to appeal to Amy's logical mind.

Unfortunately, Amy's mind was anything but logical right now. She was too upset to think clearly as she remembered how Sheldon was the one to initiate the hug with Ramona at the bar.

She was upset because she remembered how his eyes finally showed some life again when he smiled at the other woman.

She was upset because she remembered how he laughed for the first time in ages, not because of Amy, but because of her.

"Why would now be any different?" Amy repeated back to Leonard.

"Because now" Amy paused shutting her eyes "now I think he wants her too" she said simply and abruptly ended the call.

Amy threw her phone down on the bed and began angrily pacing back and forth again. She stopped and glared at the door as soon as she heard the familiar beep of the hotel key and waited.


	4. Chapter 4

Sheldon unlocked the hotel room with his key. He expected it to be dark with Amy pretending to be asleep in bed. He knew when she was mad at him she often went to bed, turning away from him pretending to be asleep not wanting to confront him. That did not seem to be the case now as Amy was standing glaring at him with her arms crossed in the middle of the well-lit room.

* * *

After Amy had fled the hotel bar, Sheldon downed his drink without thinking (disgusting), threw some money on the counter for all of their purchases and quickly said his good-byes running out the door.

The elevator took forever but he did not mind. It gave him time to formulate what he was going to say to his wife. All he had come up with so far was the truth. His mother had always said that honesty was the best policy. Although Sheldon was a grown man, a father himself, he did not want to disappoint his mom from beyond the grave by not following that policy now.

* * *

Sheldon entered the room, put his hotel key down on the desk and approached Amy.

She backed away from his approach.

Sheldon stopped. In all of their years together, she had never done that.

"Amy" he began. "I know you were surprised to hear that Dr. Nowitzki and I have been in contact over the years" he paused.

Sheldon expected Amy to interrupt him. She did not. So he went on.

"First of all, she was exaggerating when she used the word 'many' to describe our meetings or our number of correspondences" he said.

Nothing. No reaction from Amy. She still stood with her arms crossed over her chest. He gulped and continued as he faced her.

"We first saw each other again at a conference ten years ago. In total, we have seen each other over the last ten years four times, including tonight, and two of those times were with her husband" he stressed.

Still no reaction from his wife. Sheldon took a deep breath.

"We have corresponded via email more than that, around a few dozen times or so; however, all of our communications were of a professional nature, nothing more" he said in a confident tone.

Still nothing from Amy.

"That is all" he finished and sat down on the bed putting his head in his hands.

Why was Amy not yelling at him or at least questioning him? He could tell she had been upset in the bar earlier. But now he could not tell how she was feeling. All he knew was that she was torturing him by being so quiet. So calm.

After a few minutes had passed, Sheldon could not take it anymore.

"Well, for Pete's sakes Amy!" Sheldon raised his voice standing from the bed "say something, anything!"

Amy lowered her arms and stepped closer to him with fury in her eyes.

This time Sheldon took a step back.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you keep your contact with her a secret from me?" she asked.

"I am sorry, I thought it would upset you. I know that you did not like that fact that Dr. Nowitzki kissed me before I asked you to marry me" he answered.

"And has she kissed you since then?" Amy asked flatly.

"WHAT!" Sheldon said. "No" he stopped. "Well, once but that was on the cheek and again her husband was there. It was just a formal greeting the 'rich and famous' do at these fancy science shing-dings".

Amy let out an exasperated sigh.

"Why did you keep this a secret from me for ten years Sheldon?" Amy asked again a little louder.

"I told you Amy. I did not want to upset you over nothing" he said and began pacing back and forth in the room.

Amy could tell Sheldon was becoming agitated at her questioning which prompted her to continue. There was something he wasn't telling her.

"Why did you keep the fact that you talked with her a secret from me Sheldon?" Amy loudly prompted again.

"Because…" Sheldon was getting more and more agitated at Amy's constant repetition of the same question he had already answered.

"Because Leonard told me to" he said triumphantly trying to change the focus of questioning.

Amy was not dissuaded and just got angrier and angrier at his easy dismissal of her question. What was he hiding?

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT RAMONA, SHELDON?" Amy screamed at him.

"BECAUSE YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME TO STOP TALKING TO HER!" Sheldon blurted out.

* * *

The room went deathly silent then. Neither Sheldon nor Amy could say anything as they both stared at each other with their mouths agape.

Sheldon was the first to recover.

"Amy" he said softly as he moved towards her opening his arms.

"NO!" she screamed at him stepping away.

Amy was frantic. Sheldon had all but admitted his attraction to Ramona. He admitted his desire to stay in contact with another woman even when he knew that it would upset Amy. Not just any woman. The woman who had repeatedly thrown herself at him despite knowing that he was not available. He must have been counting on that fact tonight. Perhaps he really was like his father after all.

"Get out" she said quietly closing her eyes.

"Amy" Sheldon tried again.

"I said get out!" Amy yelled. "Go get another room tonight. You are not staying here. Leave" she said as she went to hide in the bathroom. "Go find Ramona's room. I'm sure she would be happy to put you up for the night" she choked out as she slammed the bathroom door behind her.

Sheldon was stunned. After almost twenty years of marriage, Amy had kicked him out. Sure, they had fought plenty of times; however, she had never told him to leave. And she had certainly never suggested he go stay in another woman's room for the night. He did not know what to do next.

Usually when he and Amy had fought over the years, Sheldon would call his mother for advice. She had always helped him come to the right conclusion while at the same time making him believe it was all his idea. Now his mom was gone. It was at times like these when Sheldon could not stomach the pain of having lost her.

He could call Leonard but it seemed his initial advice about not telling Amy about Dr. Nowitzki was wrong so Sheldon wasn't sure he could trust any advice he provided him now. Sheldon even thought about calling Penny but decided against it. He had already been yelled at enough tonight.

Suddenly, the events of the night and the entire trip caught up with him and he was just too damn tired to care anymore. If Amy did not want him then fine! he huffed. He would leave. Sheldon stormed around the room loudly opening and closing drawers. He gathered a few personal items for the night and left the room not sure where he was going to go.


	5. Chapter 5

The horrific night in October when Amy kicked Sheldon out of their hotel room began the first of many sleepless nights for Amy. "Including this one" Amy sighed as she gave up trying to sleep and rose from the bed in the cabin.

She put on her robe and went to light the fire again. She moved to the kitchen thinking maybe some warm milk might help her sleep.

Amy smiled as she remembered making glasses of warm milk for her children when they were young and could not sleep. She missed those simple days when they were all together under one roof. Now, they all lived apart. She here in a cabin on Big Bear Lake, Marie in England, Elliot in Boston and Sheldon in their home, or at least what she used to consider a home. She hadn't been living at home for a while.

Amy remembered when they purchased their house. Elliot was a toddler and Amy was expecting Marie. Their little family had simply outgrown their current apartment and with Sheldon's Nobel earnings, they were able to afford a very nice three bedroom home on the edge of Pasadena.

It took them many months to find a place to Sheldon's liking, and while it was a little farther from the University than they were used to, it was well worth the extra commute. They had made their house into a happy home for many years.

Leonard and Penny still stayed in the apartment building to stay close to Caltech where Leonard was now a teaching professor. Sheldon and Amy visited often and could relive the old days of apartment living whenever the desire hit them. Amy was very grateful to Leonard and Penny for letting her stay with them when she first returned to California after finally leaving Europe.

* * *

After Amy was sure Sheldon had left the hotel room that night in Stockholm, she left her hiding place in the bathroom, packed her things and headed straight to the airport to catch an earlier fight to Oxford to visit Marie. Marie was very happy to see her mom but quite busy with her studies and adjusting to a new school and a new country so Amy was left on her own. That was not a good thing for Amy. She did a lot of crying in her hotel room those first few days.

Amy was hurting. She had been ignoring Sheldon's calls for days. She didn't know where Sheldon ended up staying that night in Stockholm and she honestly wasn't sure if she ever wanted to know. Knowing her husband's tendency to take things literal, it was very possible he did go find Ramona's room as she had suggested in her anger that night. Amy was not ready to face Sheldon or that possibility. She didn't know how she was going to explain his absence to Marie but she did not want him to come to England while she was still there.

Amy took a chance and called him. Fortunately, he must have been too busy with Nobel committee duties to answer so she left him a voice mail message. Amy pleaded in the message that if Sheldon had ever loved her at all, he would not come to England as originally planned. She told him, in no uncertain terms, that she did not want to see him and she did not want to have to explain why to their daughter.

Later that day, Marie told her that her dad called. He had told Marie he had been detained and couldn't make it after all that week. Amy was relieved, but also a small part of her was disappointed. Contrary to what she had indicated in her message, if Sheldon really loved her, he should have come after her to England. Disheartened, Amy decided to stay in England a little longer.

* * *

About a week after she arrived, Amy was accosted by Marie one day on the quad of the Oxford campus.

Amy had been touring the historic campus with some British colleagues while they discussed their latest research on neurobiology. She had thought the tour would be a good distraction from her worries, but in all honestly, she really was not up for it. She ended up just being hot and tired and skipping lunch again.

"Mom" Marie said out of breath. "One of my professors knows you" she said.

"I know Marie" Amy said, a little flushed from the unexpected autumn heat. "I've already been chatting with some of the biologists…"

"No, no" Marie interrupted. "Not my biology professor. My math professor" she said.

"Your math professor?" Amy questioned.

"Hello Amy. Nice to see you again" a man said in a very clear British tone behind her.

Amy spun around and looked up. Way up. 'Oh my goodness!' she thought.

"Dave?" Amy inquired. "Is that you?" Don't be silly, Amy scolded herself internally. Who else could it be but the harmless giant from a foreign land? Amy smiled as she remembered his humble description of himself on their last date together so many years ago.

"It is" Dave smiled back and bent down to give Amy a chaste hug.

"Oh, wow how nice to see you. Um, it's been a long time" Amy stammered as she hugged him back.

Although, she didn't think of him very often, there were a few times over the years that Amy wondered what had happened to Dave Gibbs, the British math teacher whom she almost gave her… Wow! Don't go there Amy, she thought.

"Professor Gibbs was just asking us some random questions about where we were all from, about our families, our parent's jobs etc. and he realized that he knew my parents. The world of academia is such a small world, isn't it?" Marie exclaimed with a small laugh.

Suddenly, Amy's face flushed. Her head started to spin. Her breathing became labored.

Marie couldn't have possible known she had just uttered a terrible choice of words. They were the words that Dr. Nowitzki said when Amy caught her and Sheldon that night in the bar. The night when Sheldon may have gone to Ramona's room and...

"Amy is everything alright?" Dave asked. "You look a little…"

Before Dave could finish his sentence, Amy went down.


	6. Chapter 6

Amy woke up blinking rapidly. Everything was fuzzy. Where were her glasses? Amy sat up quickly to find them and then just as suddenly fell back down.

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy okay. Here let me get your glasses for you."

Amy's vision was cloudy but her hearing was fine. Who was speaking to her in that deep British voice?

Amy felt herself being pulled into a seated position on what appeared to be a large leather sofa by very strong large hands. She felt her glasses being gently placed into her hands. She put them on and looked to her right.

"Dave" Amy said hoarsely. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure but for some reason you fainted on the quad earlier. I carried you here to my office. Marie has gone to fetch the campus nurse. I am under strict orders to stay by your side until she returns" he smiled and saluted her.

"Oh" Amy put her hand to her head. "Did I hit my head? It doesn't hurt" she questioned.

"Um, no I don't think so. I, um, sort of caught you before you hit the ground" he said sheepishly.

"You did?" she asked.

He nodded.

Amy was a little stunned. She wasn't used to being a damsel in distress and being rescued by a "knight in shining armor". Well, technically "a professor in wrinkled khakis".

"Thank you" she said embarrassed.

At that point, Marie rushed in the door with the nurse who checked Amy's vitals. The nurse chastised her for not eating properly (Amy had pretty much lost her appetite since the night she last saw Sheldon) but finally declared she was in good health.

She advised that Amy rest out of the heat for at least an hour, drink plenty of fluids, and eat something! Marie needed to head to her next class so Dave offered to stay with Amy and let her rest in his air-conditioned office. Marie was a little hesitant but Amy assured her she would be fine.

Dave made sure Amy drank plenty of water and got something to eat. As she rested, Amy enjoyed hearing about his antics over the last twenty plus years. He had moved back to England after being offered a professorship at Oxford about twelve years ago. He had never remarried. He still enjoyed teaching math but continued his love of physics. He had loved she and Sheldon's paper on super asymmetry and heard about Sheldon winning the Nobel years ago. He offered his belated congratulations. Amy kindly accepted on Sheldon's behalf.

In turn, Amy shared how she and Sheldon married and still lived in Pasadena working at Caltech, although she was now working part-time so she could write. Of course, he already knew about their daughter Marie and Amy told him about their son Elliot and his first year at Harvard. Amy answered his questions about Sheldon's work and even Leonard's too as he had always been a fan of both physicists.

Dave was the first to bring up the last time he and Amy saw each other. It was in Amy's apartment in California on their final date together. Amy had started dating Dave shortly after she had ended things with Sheldon back then after years of waiting for him to commit to her.

Amy didn't have much experience dating, so she had decided it would be good for her to try and get out there a little. Amy thought Dave was a really nice guy, but after only a few dates she had told him she didn't think things were going to work out between them. She had realized he just wasn't Sheldon. No one was. Sheldon was the only guy she had ever really wanted.

Amy attempted to reconcile with Sheldon but was heartbroken when he rejected her. She had decided to try things again with Dave. She needed to move on. She needed to do anything to stop the pain she felt from being without the man she truly loved.

The last time she had seen Dave was the night she had invited him over for an intimate dinner at her place. Dave liked Amy and was more than willing to do his part to help her "move on" that night; however, Sheldon had interrupted their date, and subsequent kiss, and Amy essentially kicked Dave to the curb.

Amy had never apologized to Dave for her behavior. She had acted very rudely and he didn't deserve that kind of treatment. He was very generous in accepting her apology now.

"So where is your husband now?" Dave asked innocently. "Why is he not with you visiting Marie?"

Amy tensed up at his question and turned her head down to the floor.

Dave picked up on her discomfort immediately.

"Amy? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Dave. I don't mean to unload all of my dirty laundry on you but Sheldon and I aren't exactly speaking right now. Marie doesn't know so I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything" Amy said as tears began to fill her eyes.

Dave brought her some tissues and put his arm around her shoulder to try and comfort her.

Amy hadn't talked to anyone about what had happened in Stockholm. Penny had tried to reach her a few times but she just wasn't ready to talk with her yet. Talking with Penny would make it all seem so real.

Here in Oxford, Amy had been living on holiday, not facing the real world yet. And that is how she found herself crying on the shoulder of a man she hadn't seen in decades blubbering about how her marriage was all a lie and how she could never trust her husband again.

Dave listened. He added sage advice when asked. He remained quiet when he wasn't asked. Amy felt so much better having someone to talk to about her troubles but she also felt terrible for burdening him. After she blew her nose, for what seemed like the hundredth time, she offered to take Dave to dinner to make it up to him. She owed him for not only catching her when she fainted but staying to take care of her and being a strong shoulder to cry on.

Dave argued that wasn't necessary but eventually agreed to have dinner that night. As he obviously knew his way around better than Amy, he would pick her up from the hotel at 8:00.

Marie came back to get Amy and they left Professor Gibbs office. Amy decided not to tell Marie about having dinner with her professor. She didn't want to embarrass her or have to answer questions about how she knew Dave. I'm mean what could she tell her? Oh, yes, your professor was the man I almost gave my virginity to over twenty years ago before your father interrupted us with his declaration of love. Yikes.

Dave arrived right on time. Amy had barely eaten since Stockholm and enjoyed taking the time to experience the wonderful local cuisine at a quaint little restaurant with a view of the famous river. It was nice to take her mind off of her troubles even if for just one night.

True to her word, she paid for dinner and desert and then they strolled by her hotel enjoying the clear night and the beautiful sites of the historic city. Dave explained the various landmarks and amazing architecture. Amy was enthralled with all of the scenes as she held on to Dave to keep her balance on the old cobblestone walkways.

They walked into the hotel still arm in arm but before they parted and said good night, Dave mentioned he had left his umbrella in her room earlier when he came to get her for dinner. An umbrella was not something he wanted to leave behind in Oxford weather but he had been hesitant to bring it up. He didn't want her to think he was trying to trick her into getting back into her hotel room.

Amy just giggled at his ridiculous statement and continued to hold his arm dragging him to the elevator so he could come back to her room to get the umbrella. Dave bent down and said something that only Amy could hear as they stood in the elevator waiting for the other people to join them. Amy laughed again as the elevator doors closed.

What Amy did not see was that Sheldon had been in the hotel lobby watching them the entire time.


	7. Chapter 7

Amy stayed in England for nearly two weeks. She had enjoyed visiting with Marie but knew she was "cramping her style" as it were and needed to let her experience Oxford on her own.

Amy enjoyed visiting her Oxford colleagues and reuniting with Dave again and they promised to stay in touch. Dave also promised to look out for Marie and to keep her parents troubles a secret.

Amy flew home to California. She had not tried to contact Sheldon once since she left Stockholm barring the one voice mail asking him to not come to England.

Sheldon had tried to contact Amy several times during her first week in England but then the phone calls and text messages just stopped. Amy didn't want to think about what that meant. She knew she needed to talk with Sheldon but she was too afraid to hear what he had to say about his relationship with Ramona.

Even after all this time, Amy was no closer to deciding what she was going to do about Sheldon than she was on the night she left Stockholm. Their relationship had been the rock she had built her future on for so many years now. Sheldon's love for her was not something she ever doubted anymore. But now? She wasn't sure.

Amy had been in touch with Penny. She finally told her everything. Amy's ears still burned from the string of cuss words Penny let fly when she heard what Sheldon and Leonard had done by keeping his secret. Penny was more than okay with Amy's request to stay with them for a while in the apartment. Amy could have the guest bedroom. Leonard could have the couch!

Amy made sure that Sheldon had gone to work when she arrived at their home from the airport to pack more clothes and a few personal items. She made a quick video call to Elliot before she left the house so he could see her calling from home. If she wasn't going to tell Marie, she certainly wasn't going to tell Elliot what was going on with their mother and father.

Amy forgave Leonard a lot easier than Penny did for keeping Sheldon's secret.

Leonard felt really guilty about his part in Amy and Sheldon's separation. He had tried repeatedly to talk with his best friend to convince him to reconcile with Amy but for some reason Sheldon wouldn't listen and Leonard didn't know why. In any case, Leonard was grateful that Amy avoided asking him about Sheldon because he was at a loss on how to help his friends.

Almost a week had gone by and Amy settled into life in apartment 4A. The Hofstadters had given the old place a complete remodel about ten years ago. It was brighter and more modern and grown up than before, although, every once in a while some random comic book figurine would find its way onto the bookshelf.

One night, as they were just sitting down to eat, there was a familiar knock in triplicate at the door. Amy, Penny and Leonard all froze in their spots holding their Thai take-out in mid-air. Amy rarely ate much anymore and instantly lost her appetite setting her food down.

Penny looked at Amy who just nodded and then Penny rose to go answer the door. It was Sheldon. He looked absolutely horrible. Skinny, unshaven, and honestly he smelled just a little.

"Penny" he said. "Please give this document to Amy. I know she has been staying with you."

He handed a stapled document to Penny.

"Please convey to her that she should have an electronic version in her inbox sometime this evening" he said.

"Thank you" and he quickly left.

Penny looked down at the document and gasped. She held on to it tightly and ran out the door after him never even turning around to look at Leonard or Amy.

Overhearing Penny and Sheldon's conversation, Amy jumped up from the couch and ran to the counter to grab her phone. She opened her inbox and saw Sheldon's email sent moments earlier. The email contained one attachment simply titled, _The Separation Agreement._

For the second time in a month, Amy collapsed. Luckily, Leonard was the "knight in shining armor" this time.

* * *

Penny caught up with Sheldon easily. She was younger and a runner; whereas, Sheldon looked like he could barely stand on his feet right now. She spun him around in the lobby of the apartment building.

"Just where do you think you are going, uh? What kind of a jack-ass move are you trying to pull here Sheldon? You want me to give those papers to my best friend just like that because you're too much of a coward to face her yourself?

Well, fuck you Sheldon. I'm not doing it!" she yelled and flung the papers at his face.

"That is fine" Sheldon said putting the document under his arm failing to even comment on her vulgar language.

"She should have the electronic version by now anyway. I was just fulfilling the agreement by providing a written copy" Sheldon replied dryly and turned to leave the building.

"Sheldon!" Penny screamed again jumping in front of him blocking his path. This time she had tears in her eyes and placed her hand gently on his arm.

"Sheldon" she said softly. "I've known you for thirty years. You are one of my dearest friends. You both are" she said. Penny was visibly crying now, a rarity for her. "Please, whatever has happened between you cannot be so bad that you have to throw away your marriage because of it. Please Sheldon, please don't do this" she cried.

"Cannot be so bad?" Sheldon repeated angrily shaking Penny's hand from his arm. "Cannot be so bad?" he said again. "Oh, I do not know Penny. What do you consider "so bad"?" he said making quotes in the air with his hands.

"Oh, I know, how about running off in the middle of the night ignoring your husband's frantic phone calls to find out your whereabouts or even whether you were dead or alive" he started in a rare attempt to be sarcastic.

"Or how about not allowing a father to visit his only daughter when he has not seen her for months?" he continued sadly.

"Oh, I know, how about spending the time when you were supposed to be visiting your daughter instead having sex with another man?" he said angrily.

"I do not know Penny. Which one of those do you consider "so bad"?" he yelled and stormed out of the lobby.

Penny just stood there for a minute taking in everything Sheldon had just told her.

"What the hell?" Penny said as confused as ever and she turned to go back upstairs.

* * *

Back in the apartment, Leonard had dragged a still groggy Amy over to the couch and was placing a wet washcloth on her forehead.

"Amy" he said. "Amy" he repeated trying to get her to answer him.

Penny stormed back into the apartment.

"Okay Amy. What the hell is going…Amy?" Penny rushed to her side.

"Oh my god Leonard what happened to Amy?" Penny asked.

"I don't know" he said. "She looked at her phone and then just went down".

"She must have seen the email Sheldon sent" Penny said as she waved her arms trying to move some air over Amy.

"What did it say?" Leonard asked.

"It was a Separation Agreement" Penny replied sadly.

"Oh god" Leonard moaned.

At the same time, Amy started to moan and began to sit up. Penny helped her to a seated position.

"Penny?" Amy whispered.

"I'm here Amy" Penny said.

"Penny" Amy wailed as she broke down sobbing on her bestie's shoulder.

Penny put her arms around her and looked helplessly at Leonard who just stared at them both in shock. He couldn't even fathom a world where Amy and Sheldon were not together. He knew better than anyone how much work relationships could be but he had never seen two people work harder at it than his friends.

They had gone from two individuals who thought that love was simply unnecessary and added no value to human existence to being madly in love with each other, marrying and raising a family together. As weird and wonderful as they both were, they were meant to be together.

"Um, Leonard. Can you put on some water for tea please?" Penny asked him interrupting his thoughts.

"Sure, but don't you maybe want something a little stronger?" he replied. He knew he certainly could use a strong drink.

"I don't think so Leonard. We all need our sober thinking caps on tonight to try and solve this mess" she sighed as Amy continued to cry in her arms.


	8. Chapter 8

Penny gave Amy another cup of tea as they continued to sit on the couch after Leonard had gone to bed. Even though they hadn't talked in weeks, Amy was devastated to learn that Sheldon wanted to officially separate. She had assumed she would have more time to plan her next move. She asked Penny to repeat again what Sheldon had told her about the reasons he sent the Separation Agreement.

Amy sneaking off in the middle of the night to leave for England after their fight in Sweden. True.

Amy ignoring his phone calls to find out her whereabouts. True.

Amy begging Sheldon to cancel his trip to see Marie while she was there visiting her in Oxford. True.

Amy having sex with another man while she was visiting Marie. Not true.

Amy had no idea where that last accusation had come from. Sheldon was the first and only man she had ever been with physically. Why Amy hadn't even been close to having sex with anyone…oh! Amy stopped her ranting thoughts.

There was one man from her past that she had seriously considered sleeping with and that man was in England. How on earth would Sheldon know about Amy reuniting with Dave again? She hadn't even told Marie about their one dinner date.

"Okay, Ames" Penny said using her old nickname. "Spill. What's going on in that brain of yours? I can practically see the wheels turning" she said.

"Dave" Amy said simply.

"What?" Penny questioned.

Amy stood and began pacing around the apartment.

"Penny, do you remember when Sheldon I broke up years ago. You know, after we had been together for five years and we still hadn't engaged in coitus?" Amy asked still pacing back and forth.

Penny smiled at the word "coitus" but nodded. There was no way Amy had cheated on Sheldon. Those two were cut from the same cloth. They were made for each other.

"Well, at the time I had gone out on a few dates with a math teacher named Dave Gibbs. He is British, really, really tall, a big fan of Sheldon's. You and Leonard actually met him once after one of our dates" she said trying to jog Penny's memory.

"Oh, yeah. I totally remember him. Super tall, dorky but cute, great accent. Why?" Penny frowned.

"Well, back then right after I tried to get back with Sheldon and he shot me down, I um, well invited Dave over for dinner at my apartment. Anyway, I was planning on, well, if Sheldon hadn't shown up when he did, we would have…" Amy trailed off.

"Were you planning on losing your virginity to him?" Penny asked wide-eyed.

"Yes" Amy said. "I really think I was. Of course, I can't be sure of what might have happened because Sheldon interrupted us".

"Oh my god Amy. I can't believe you never told me this after all of these years. Wow. I am so glad Sheldon's timing wasn't off that night" Penny said. "Does Sheldon know you were going to give it up for the Brit?" she asked jokingly.

"He's always suspected yes, but things worked out so he never flat-out asked" Amy said.

"Wait, what the hell does that have to do with…" Penny started.

"Dave is one of Marie's professors at Oxford. He and I reunited while I was visiting Marie" Amy interrupted.

"Oh shit Ames! You didn't, did you?" Penny was shocked. Was Amy so upset about Sheldon and Ramona she would actually …?

"Oh my god, no, absolutely not. He is an old friend and was a sounding board to listen to my marital troubles. I paid him back with dinner. One dinner. That's it" Amy replied.

"Does Sheldon think you slept with him?" Penny asked.

"I have no idea Penny and right now I don't care" Amy said.

"Amy" Penny chastised.

"Look Penny. I don't know if he was spying on me or what but if he thinks I spent the night with Dave, then whatever. Serves him right" Amy said as she stopped pacing and plopped down on the couch.

"Amy!" Penny chastised her again.

"Penny, I still don't know if Sheldon spent the night with Ramona or not. I do know that he has been seeing her and communicating with her for ten years. Ten years! And when I asked him why he didn't tell me, all he could say was that he didn't want me to stop him! Clearly he has feelings for her. Maybe he always has" Amy started to cry again.

"And now, he wants to officially separate. Maybe he has been planning this for a while. He had been so distant this year. Maybe he wants to separate so he can be with her instead of me. I don't know" Amy sniffed.

Penny tried to reassure Amy but could see that Amy was hurting too much from receiving Sheldon's document.

"Thank you for trying to stop Sheldon earlier. I really appreciate you looking out for me but I think I'm done talking for tonight. See you in the morning" Amy said as she got up and walked down the hallway to the spare bedroom.

"Okay, good night Amy" Penny said.

Penny set her mug of tea on the table thinking about the events of the night. She did remember Dave. He was the guy that Sheldon had seen kissing Amy goodnight in front of her building the night he went to propose after they had broken up. He was the guy that broke Sheldon's hope of getting back together with Amy. Amy never knew about that night.

If Sheldon had been spying on them again, and he saw them together just like he did years ago, well that must have been absolutely devastating to him. To lose Amy not once, but twice to the same guy. Poor Sheldon. What a mess, Penny sighed turning off the lights for bed.

* * *

 **A/N: Next chapter we find out what Sheldon is thinking.**


	9. Chapter 9

Things all came to a head the next day when Elliot came home unexpectedly from Harvard for fall break. He walked into the house ready to surprise his parents and received a shock to see the house was a wreck!

There were stale takeout containers and papers strewn all over the living room. His parents would never let the house get to such a state unless they were really "in the zone" working on some project. Only there was no project. Not one that Elliot was aware of anyway.

What was going on here? He wondered.

Elliot moved into the kitchen where the sink was full of unwashed dishes and the trash looked like it hadn't been emptied in weeks. Even worse, the white board on the wall that was always, always filled with his dad's equations since before Elliot could remember, was completely blank.

He heard his dad came in the room. He should have known Dad would have heard him enter the house with his so-called "Vulcan-hearing".

"Elliot, why are you here?" Sheldon asked when he entered the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too Dad" Elliot said sarcastically. Although, Elliot had inherited many of his father's traits, he also had some of his mother's and could easily feign sarcasm when needed.

"I am sorry Elliot" Sheldon retracted. "Of course, it is wonderful to see you Son but I am surprised to see you that is all" he said as he embraced him tightly.

Elliot returned the hug. He wasn't much on displays of affection but he missed his dad. His idol. Based on the intensity of the hug, his father seemed to have missed him too.

"Dad, I am on fall break and I used one of my "come home anytime airline tickets" from Uncle Leonard and Aunt Penny. Surprise!" he smiled.

Sheldon returned the smile although it did not reach his eyes.

"Where is Mom? She is going to flip when she sees me" he said as he went to the refrigerator in search of food. His typical M.O. as a growing teenage boy. Elliot was already taller than Sheldon and just as thin even though he ate constantly.

Elliot was sorely disappointed by what he found in the fridge. Nothing but old takeout containers and quite a powerful smell. No milk, no eggs, nothing substantial.

"Dad? What is going on?" he said shutting the fridge door. "Where is Mom?" he asked again with a somber look.

Sheldon sat down with a thud at the kitchen table and held his head in his hands.

"Dad?" Elliot asked again. Like Sheldon, he was not the best at reading people but he could read his father. The man who had always been there for him. The one who had always encouraged him and supported him. Something was dreadfully wrong. Elliot sat down beside Sheldon and placed his hand on his back.

"Son, your dear-old-dad has made a terrible mistake" Sheldon began "and I do not know how to fix it."

Sheldon had been miserable being apart from Amy these last few weeks after their fight in Sweden.

What made it even worse was that the fight had finally jolted Sheldon out of the "zombie-like" state he had been in since he lost his mom and he had suddenly realized how distant he and Amy had been all year. At a time when he should have leaned on his spouse for support the most, he had shut her out completely.

Elliot was waiting for Sheldon to talk so he finally began to tell his son about what had happened. Sheldon was always honest with his children, even when he probably should have been a little less truthful.

Like the time he caused Marie to be afraid of water for two solid years as a child.

"Do not forget to stay on the adhesive ducks in the tub Marie. Children can drown in less than two inches of water you know."

Or the time when Amy got mad at him for destroying their young son's innocent love of Christmas.

"No Elliot, Santa Clause is not real. He is just a commercialized myth exploited by retail manufacturers to suck in gullible parents' money."

Or when he was honest with the kids about their pet Swimmy.

"Yes, your fish did die this morning because you two over fed him. But do not worry, we already flushed him down the toilet."

Yes, he probably should have been less truthful at times, but it was not really in his nature.

So because of his honest nature, he started to tell his son how his mother saw him with Dr. Nowitzki at the bar in Stockholm.

Elliot and Marie already knew the story of how the woman had kissed Sheldon when he and Amy were dating prompting him to fly spontaneously across the country and propose to their mom. They always thought that story to be quite a romantic gesture on their dad's part.

When Sheldon revealed to his son that he had not told his mom about the continued contact with Dr. Nowitzki, Elliot, who was also quite honest to a fault, asked his dad if he had romantic feelings for this woman. He boldly asked if that was why Sheldon met up with her in the bar that night.

"Oh my god, no, absolutely not. She is an old colleague and was a sounding board to listen to my theories over the years. I paid her back with a drink. One drink. That is it" Sheldon replied.

Sheldon went on to explain how he and Elliot's mom had fought and she kicked him out of the hotel room. Sheldon had gone to the lobby and procured another room for himself but after a few hours of sleeplessness, he went back to their old room to try and apologize again. By that point, Amy was gone.

Sheldon had tried desperately to reach her but she would not answer his calls. He had commitments in Sweden that kept him busy but then he had finally heard from Amy.

She had left a voice message saying she was in England with Marie and she did not want him to come after her as originally planned. She said very clearly, she did not want to see him.

Sheldon respected Amy's wishes and called Marie to say he could not make it. He did something he rarely does.

He lied.

In reality, he did come to England when his business in Stockholm was finished. He came to Amy's hotel to talk with her and that was when he saw them together.

Sheldon could not believe his eyes when he saw them that night. Amy was smiling and laughing on the arms of another man. She was practically dragging this man to the elevator to go up to her hotel room right in front of him. And not just any man. Dave Gibbs!

Even without Sheldon's eidetic memory, he was sure he could never forget the man who contributed to the pain he felt when he went to propose to Amy that night during their break-up so many years ago.

Walking down Amy's street, with his Mee-Maw's diamond ring in hand, Sheldon saw the two of them kissing goodnight in front of Amy's apartment building. Dave was so tall, Amy had to stand on the curb to reach him when they kissed. It was obvious to Sheldon, she had moved on with someone else. Someone better than him.

Sheldon's heart shattered. He turned around, put the ring back in his pocket and quietly left without Amy seeing him. He never told her about that night. Sheldon tried to do the right thing back then. He tried to move on from the only woman he ever loved.

Later, when Sheldon realized he could never move on from Amy, that only she could heal his broken heart, he ran to her apartment. Dave was there again. In her apartment.

Sheldon knew Amy was vulnerable at the time from him turning down her offer to be his girlfriend again. He had just wanted to give her a chance to find someone to make her happy. Or at least that is what he had told himself. Truthful, he may have just been trying to protect himself as he tried desperately to heal his broken heart.

Sheldon knew Amy was willing to do anything to heal her broken heart too, including begin intimate with this man. Sheldon would always be grateful he arrived when he did that night to stop them.

But he was too late to stop them this time, wasn't he?

Sheldon had once again left Amy vulnerable with his thoughtless actions and Amy had once again turned to this same man.

Sheldon had lost all hope when he saw them together in that hotel lobby. Even if somehow he had found the courage to confront her, he did not know what room she was in, she would not answer his calls and he could not ask Marie. He left England devastated and flew home to California.

Sheldon started to choke up talking with Elliot and decided to leave out the part about seeing Amy with Dave in the hotel. He did not want his son to think less of his mother.

So Sheldon simply finished his story by stating that he and Elliot's mom had not spoken since Stockholm. He had called repeatedly and even went to England to talk with her but was unable to see her. Amy returned from England and Sheldon found out from Leonard she had been staying with he and Penny ever since.

"Why?" Elliott asked simply. "Why are you not talking to each other after all this time? Why is Mom so upset that you did not tell her about Dr. Nowitzki if you really do not think of her that way?" None of this made logical sense to Elliot. Was his Dad telling the truth?

"Elliot, I swear Dr. Nowitzki is just a colleague. I do enjoy talking with her about physics but your mom knows I have never thought of her in any other way" Sheldon answered.

Sheldon did like talking about physics with Dr. Nowitzki. He had always thought she was extremely intelligent. And he was genuinely pleased to see her that night but he had never once thought of her in a romantic way.

He had been exhausted the night he ran into her at the bar in Stockholm. Not just from his nomination committee duties but from a miserable year of everyone close to him trying unsuccessfully to make him feel better after the loss of his mom.

Only Ramona didn't know anything about his loss. She had treated him the same as always and it was a welcome reprieve from having to talk about his mom and pretend he was fine all of the time.

While he was pleased to talk shop with a colleague for a while, Sheldon did not trust Ramona. She had not made it onto his "Enemies List" yet, but he considered her a formidable foe in the world of theoretical physics. She was constantly right on his heels chasing after his theories. It was only a matter of time before her work surpassed his own.

When it came to his work, Sheldon subscribed to the old adage – keep your friends close and your enemies (or potential enemies) closer. That was the real reason Sheldon had kept in contact with her for the last ten years.

"No, Dad. You are wrong. Mom does not know how you feel or she would have forgiven you by now. You need to tell her. Now!" Elliot said simply.

"It is too late" Sheldon said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Elliot asked.

"I…"Sheldon stammered "I may have acted rashly. When your mom moved out and refused to speak to me for weeks, I…" Sheldon gulped "I realized she was never going to forgive me. I asked your mom to sign a separation agreement" he finished.

Sheldon could not tell Elliot the real reason he drafted that agreement was because his mom had betrayed his father with another man. He would not do that to his son. Sheldon knew what it felt like to find out a parent had cheated. He would not put him in that situation.

"Oh Dad, No." Elliot said.

Sheldon put his head down on the table. He did not want his son to see him cry.

Elliot put his hand on his dad's back again

"Is that what you want Dad?" Elliot asked quietly. "To be separated from Mom?"

Sheldon lifted his head. He was thoughtful for a moment. No, he did not want to be separated from his wife. Sheldon had already decided he could very easily give up any and all contact with Dr. Nowitzki for Amy even if it meant possibly jeopardizing his work, but could he forgive Amy for her dalliance with another man?

Yes, he decided. He could. He loved her. He had watched his mother love his father no matter his mistakes. He could do that too.

"No" Sheldon said. "That is not what I want."

"Okay" Elliot said excitedly. "Then let's get to work solving this problem" he said as he texted his sister explaining the situation and told her to call him. Between both of their big brains, he knew they could figure a way to fix this for their parents!


	10. Chapter 10

It was the day following Sheldon's appearance to the Hofstadters to drop of The Separation Agreement for Amy. The agreement became the catalyst Amy needed to make some decisions concerning her marriage. No matter how painful, she could no longer act like a child and ignore Sheldon and their problems.

She knew her husband would not take the decision to separate lightly and that was her greatest concern. Sheldon hated change and if he was willing to change everything by possibly ending their marriage, it may be too late for them no matter how she felt about it. She could not believe their fight had escalated to this point!

Amy decided to go away and be by herself for a while to decide what she really wanted for her marriage and for her life. She talked with Penny this morning about a place to go and when Penny mentioned her doctor friend's cabin on Big Bear Lake was available, Amy jumped at it. She made Penny promise not to tell Sheldon where she would be staying.

Penny helped Amy carry her few belongings to the car and Amy decided to try and take a quick nap before making the drive to the lake. She wasn't sleeping very well at night and she didn't want to fall asleep driving.

While Amy rested, Penny worked on her laptop. After a while, Penny heard a knock at the door.

"Elliot!" Penny said surprised when she opened her apartment door.

Penny was struck by how much Elliot looked like Sheldon seeing him stand in the same spot as his father had only yesterday.

"Hey Aunt Penny" Elliot said.

"Come here" Penny demanded bringing Elliot in for a famous Penny hug. "I thought we wouldn't see you until Thanksgiving" she said as they came inside the apartment and she closed the door.

"Fall break" he said simply. "Thanks to you and Uncle Leonard's plane ticket" he smiled.

Penny smiled in return and then frowned when Elliot blurted out "I want to talk to Mom." Just like his dad, he never beat around the bush.

"Hold on" Penny replied as she went to the spare bedroom. Penny hated to wake Amy but she knocked gently on the door and told her Elliot was home for fall break and here to see her.

Amy jumped up like a cannon (especially for someone her age) and practically sprinted to the living room where Elliot had settled into his dad's old spot on the couch.

For a moment, Amy stopped moving as she was taken aback by how much her son looked like a younger version of Sheldon sitting in that very same spot over the years.

"Oh my goodness sweetie! What a wonderful surprise" Amy said finally reaching him as he stood up and she embraced her tall son.

"Hi Mom" he said hugging her in return. He noticed when he hugged her that she felt smaller to him if that were even possible.

They both sat on the couch and Elliot took her hand and turned to her.

"Mom, Dad told me everything. Why are you still here? Why aren't you even trying to fix your marriage?" he asked bluntly.

Amy sighed. Elliot took after his father in many ways, not just in appearance but also in his direct manner.

"Elliot" she began. "I'm sorry you had to find out about your father and my situation. Actually, I had hoped to figure out what to do about it by now, but I haven't. I think we just need some time apart."

"Nope!" Elliot jumped up from the couch. "That is not right Mom. You and Dad have already spent enough time apart as it is. And don't be sorry about me finding out about you guys either. Marie and I aren't kids anymore and that was not cool, you keeping something like this from us" he said.

"I'm sorry" Amy said again.

"It's okay" Elliot said sitting back down. "But you might not want to talk to Marie for a while. She's pissed that you didn't tell her what was going on when you were in England."

Amy gulped and nodded.

"Look Mom, Dad loves you. He knows he made a mistake. Both in keeping his contact with that woman a secret and in sending you the Separation Agreement. He didn't mean it Mom. He doesn't want to separate."

"I don't know Elliot. The agreement made his intentions pretty clear" she said softly.

"Will you please just talk to him? Please?" he begged.

Amy looked at her son. She never could resist him. All he had to do growing up was say "please" and look at her with those puppy dog eyes like he was doing now and she was a goner. She nodded in the affirmative.

Before Amy knew what was happening, Elliot quickly got up, grabbed Penny by the arm and moved them both to the door.

"Bye" he said opening the door practically shoving a very confused Penny through it.

"Hello Amy" said a voice in the doorway.

It was Sheldon.


	11. Chapter 11

**"Hello Amy" said a voice in the doorway.**

 **It was Sheldon.**

* * *

Amy jumped up from the couch. Her son was always a tricky one!

"Hi Sheldon" she said.

"Thank you for agreeing to talk with me" he said closing the door behind him.

"Of course" she said watching him. He looked tired. Like he also hadn't been sleeping well.

"I apologize for telling the children about our situation. I know you did not want them to know but Elliot caught me by surprise in a moment of weakness" he said.

"No, no" Amy said. "You were right to tell them. I shouldn't have kept something like this from them".

"Oh" Sheldon said. He was surprised that Amy agreed with his decision. He was also surprised by her appearance. She looked really tired. Maybe she was not able to sleep either. And she appeared thinner. Too thin. He was worried.

"Amy, how have you been?" he asked "Are you okay? Sleeping okay, eating properly, shoes fitting well?"

"Sheldon" Amy cut him off. "I'm okay. Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.

"Actually, no I am not okay" he answered. "I am miserable."

"Amy, I miss you" Sheldon whispered.

"I miss you too Sheldon" Amy whispered back.

"Please come home sweetheart'" Sheldon pleaded.

Amy was taken aback for a moment hearing him call her the term of endearment. She had missed those times when Sheldon showed his softer side to only her.

"Sheldon you don't want me to come home" Amy finally said still in a whisper. "You sent me" she stopped and closed her eyes "The Separation Agreement" she finished.

"No!" he yelled and came closer to her.

Amy opened her eyes startled by his outburst.

"I acted rashly. I was" this time Sheldon stopped and closed his eyes "hurt" he said.

"Hurt?" Amy questioned. "How were you hurt?"

Amy wondered if Sheldon would tell her the same things he had told Penny last night and maybe she could get to the bottom of his accusation about her being with another man.

"Amy, you kicked me out in the middle of the night. You would not talk to me or let me see you or Marie. I finally had to track you down and then I saw…" Sheldon paused "it does not matter. I am sorry I sent you that document. It was a mistake. I do not want to separate. Please Amy, I love you. Please come home" he pleaded again.

Amy sighed. She was sorry her actions had hurt Sheldon but she could not forget it was his secretive behavior that started this fight.

"What about Ramona?" she asked sternly.

"Amy, it was a mistake for me not to tell you about her" he admitted "but please know I do not have any romantic feelings for Dr. Nowitzki at all. I never have and I never will. Our relationship, if you even want to call it that, is strictly professional. I only followed her work over the years to keep her from surpassing mine. Regardless, I have no hesitation in cutting off all communication with her forever. None whatsoever" he said with conviction.

"I have not spoken to or seen her since I ran out of that hotel bar to come after you" he finished.

Amy stood there and just stared at Sheldon.

While she still did not like the fact he had kept his contact with Ramona a secret, she wanted to believe him. She knew he kept tabs on anyone he saw as a threat to his work. That would include a well-accomplished theoretical physicist like Nowitski. Even so, he did say he would cut off communication with her although it might come at a high cost for him professionally.

More importantly, he said he was not interested in her romantically and he didn't go to her that night after Amy had kicked him out of their hotel room. And when it came right down to it, in all their years together, he had never shown romantic interest in anyone but Amy.

Ultimately, it was her choice to believe him or not and...she did. In fact, if she really thought about it, she had always believed deep down, he would never hurt her that way.

Amy exhaled a long breath of relief but as ecstatic as she was that Sheldon had not cheated on her, she still needed to ask one more question.

"Sheldon. Why did you really send that agreement to me if it wasn't about you wanting to be free to pursue Ramona?" she questioned.

"Pursue Ramona? Ugh, Amy. Never" he said.

"Answer the question Sheldon" Amy insisted.

"I" Sheldon started pacing around the room. He was scared. He was afraid if he told her he knew about her and Dave then she might just give up, sign The Separation Agreement and move to England. However, this was Amy. He could not lie to her.

"Sheldon?" Amy prompted again.

"I saw you in England with Dave Gibbs. The man you dated before we got back together" he said in a rush as he stopped moving.

Amy began to say something but Sheldon interrupted her.

"It does not matter Amy. I do not care what you did, well I care, but it does not matter. I was the one that drove you into the arms of another man. I just want my wife back. I cannot live without you Amy. Please" he looked at her hopefully.

Oh, Amy thought. He was in England. He came after me even though I told him not to come. He thinks I betrayed him but he is willing to take me back anyway. He...he loves me so much, she realized.

"Sheldon, I am not sure what you saw" she began "but I wasn't in the arms of another man. Well, not in the way you mean. Dave moved back to England. He is Marie's professor at Oxford and we ran into each other for the first time since you and I got back together.

We did go for dinner and sight-seeing one night as friends where he picked me up and dropped me off at my hotel but nothing happened between us in England" she said.

"Sheldon, you know I could never be with anyone else but you" she finished quietly.

This time it was Sheldon that just stared at Amy.

While he still did not like the fact she had spent time with the man she had once dated, he wanted to believe her. She had always said she could never be with anyone else and in all their years together, she had never given him any reason to doubt her.

The events he saw in England could certainly be circumstantial. Amy had adequately explained why she and Dave were together and he had not seen anything to contradict her statement.

Sheldon was a scientist. He knew to come to a plausible hypothesis one must analyze not just some of the data, but all. He had forgotten that in England when he jumped to a conclusion without gathering all of the facts.

And the most crucial fact of all was that he loved Amy and she said nothing had happened between them. He made a choice. He decided to believe her.

Suddenly, the realization that Amy had not betrayed him with another man hit him. He felt like he could finally breath again. His beautiful wife was still his, and his alone.

Sheldon crossed the room, took Amy into his arms, and then he kissed her.

Amy was shocked by Sheldon's sudden actions but too lost in the way he was kissing her to care. She kissed him back and held him tightly like she was afraid he might disappear. And then she remembered why she felt that way about him. Amy abruptly broke off the kiss and moved away from him.

"Sheldon" she said still a little breathless from their kiss. "This is isn't about Ramona or Dave. This is about us. This is about how much we've grown apart this year. How distant we've become. Honestly, these last few weeks we've been living apart haven't seemed all that different to me than when we lived together."

Amy paced around the room. She had just had an epiphany. She knew Sheldon loved her greatly, as she loved him, and she was so grateful he had remained faithful; however, their relationship had changed. Instead of thriving or growing or even remaining steadfast, it had reverted backwards.

This separation wasn't about a secret or a misunderstanding or simple jealousy. This was about how Sheldon was suddenly treating Amy and their relationship the way he used to back in the beginning. Back when he shut himself off from her and she bottled up her feelings of hurt and neglect.

Back when at any moment, Sheldon could disappear from her life whether literally on a runaway train trip or with a quick signature ending their boyfriend/girlfriend relationship agreement over a silly thing like a dining room table.

Their relationship had turned into an unhealthy one and that needed to stop.

"You've shut me out Sheldon. Again. Just like you used in the beginning. And worse, I've just stood back and let you. I thought we were past all of that. Things have been so good for so long!" she said as she continued to pace.

Sheldon just stood there and said nothing. He could not deny Amy's accusation. They had grown apart because he had shut her out like before. So much so that they had both spent the last few weeks thinking the other could have cheated on them with someone else. How could they have doubted each other's love like that? He was not sure where Amy was headed with her speech but he felt his stomach flip-flop with a profound sense of dread.

Amy stopped pacing and moved back to him and took his hands. It wasn't easy, but she knew what she had to say.

"Sheldon, I know this year has been challenging with the loss of your mom and the kids leaving. For both of us emotionally, physically" she paused.

"Well, this isn't easy to say, because I love you, but I need some time to take a step back and re-evaluate our…"

"NO!" Sheldon interrupted and moved away from her.

"Sheldon?" Amy questioned as she looked up at him. He looked...Amy couldn't find a better word to describe it other than heartbroken. Absolutely, heartbroken.

"Please" Sheldon pleaded. "I just cannot bear to hear you say it again. I cannot. Not the same thing you said to me back when you broke up with me" he said closing his eyes.

"Amy, if you truly do love me, do not say it" he whispered as he turned away from her.

Amy was stunned by his words. She remained frozen in place as she stared at him. She had forgotten her exact words from long ago but, of course, Sheldon would remember them. He remembered everything.

Amy needed to leave. She didn't want to hurt Sheldon again but if they were going to have any chance at all to repair their relationship she needed to put some space between them so she could sort out her feelings.

Somehow she found the courage to move. She gathered her coat and purse from the couch and quietly opened the door. She turned back to look at her husband. His back was still turned to her as his head hung down. He did not see the silent tears streaming down her face.

"Bye, Sheldon" she said softly and left the apartment gently closing the door behind her.

Sheldon spun around but the door was already closed. He moved slowly to sit down at his old desk still left in the apartment he had shared with Leonard decades ago. He had been in this same place before back when Amy was still his girlfriend. After five years together, Amy had believed Sheldon was still not ready to commit to her and she broke up with him.

She had been wrong.

Sheldon had already decided to ask Amy to marry him back then and had the ring to prove it. The problem was he had waited far too long to show her how important she was to him.

At the time, he had thought nothing could ever hurt him so badly, cut him so deeply, as her leaving.

He had been wrong.

Now after over a quarter of a century together, this time, he thought, her leaving might actually kill him.

* * *

 **A/N: So that's the scene from The Commitment Determination episode that has always stayed with me even though I wish it didn't :(**


	12. Chapter 12

Amy had been far too upset to drive to the cabin as planned when she left Sheldon in the apartment. Elliot volunteered to take her when he saw how much she needed to get away. He was upset too that he and his sister's simple plan to help their parents failed miserably. They had not realized the gravity of the situation. Over the years, he and Marie had seen plenty of their peers' parents split up, but they had never worried about their own parents. They had always been so perfect for each other. He could not imagine them no longer together.

Elliot ended up staying with his mom in the cabin for a few days to make sure she was alright. Leonard drove up and brought Elliot back to Pasadena so he could stay with his dad for the last few days of his break and then head back to Massachusetts. It had been almost a week now since Amy had last spoken with Sheldon in Penny and Leonard's apartment.

Amy had apologized to both of her children for keeping them in the dark about what was going on and as much as she hated to ask, she pleaded with them not to tell their father where she was staying. They agreed to keep her secret. At least for now.

Amy had spent her time alone in the cabin thinking about Sheldon and reading the separation agreement he drafted over and over again. She couldn't stop thinking about the agreement's phrase " _Because certain problems have developed between Spouse 1 and Spouse 2_ ". She knew they both still loved each other but was it enough to overcome those problems?

Amy had experienced first-hand Sheldon's unfaltering devotion to her and to their children over the years and it was something she had cherished and never took for granted. She honestly didn't know if she could go back to anything less from him. She knew she needed to tell him how she felt. She hoped he would not hate her for being so selfish.

The long sleepless night in the cabin dragged on for Amy. She had finished her warm milk but rather than go back to bed she decided to lay down on the sofa by the cozy fire. Eventually, she was lulled to sleep by the warmth of the fire, the effects of the milk and the sound of rain gently falling on the roof.

Not long after drifting off, Amy was jolted awake when she heard a noise.

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy"

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy"

Knock, Knock, Knock "Amy"

Amy thought she was dreaming. How on earth did Sheldon find her way out here and what was he doing here in the middle of the night? Sheldon hated the outdoors, much less, the outdoors at night and in a rain storm.

"AMY PLEASE ANSWER THE DOOR!" she heard from behind the front door.

Amy wrapped in the afghan and went to open the door. Sheldon was soaking wet with only a light windbreaker. He looked as pale as a ghost and he was shivering.

"Sheldon!" Amy chastised. "Get in out of the rain" she said as she moved him to enter the cabin.

As soon as she shut the door, she dropped the afghan on the sofa and ran to get some towels and blankets. Sheldon seemed frozen in place. He was not moving at all except for his shivering limbs but his eyes never left Amy as she moved around the cabin.

When she returned, she removed his soaked jacket and pulled him over to stand by the fire. Amy moved a chair from the kitchen in front of the fireplace and helped him sit down. When Sheldon made no attempt to move, she bent down in front of him and removed his shoes and socks. She stood and slowly removed his wet shirts and began to dry him with the towels. Still he did not move and continued to watch her every movement. Neither spoke a word.

After drying him as best she could, Amy wrapped the towels around his shoulders and covered him with the blankets. She went into the kitchen and returned quickly with two mugs of hot tea. She offered a mug to him. When he did not reach for it, she blew gently over the steaming liquid and held the mug to his lips. He took a sip, watching her intently.

Amy set his mug down on the table and sat on the sofa. She felt very self-conscious with the way he was watching her. Sheldon was looking at her like he could not believe she was real and not a figment of his imagination. Amy curled her legs underneath her and quietly sipped her own tea.

Sheldon just sat in the chair by the fire watching her. He could not believe he was finally here with her in the same room. It had not been easy to find her.

* * *

After Amy had left Penny and Leonard's apartment, Penny had returned to find a devastated Sheldon hunched over his old desk. She had tried to console him but he wanted to know where Amy had gone and Penny would not tell him which upset him even more. She did tell him that Elliot was with Amy which seemed to calm Sheldon down a little.

Leonard had come home and tried his best to comfort his friend but to no avail. Eventually, they tucked Sheldon into the spare bedroom for the night and went to bed.

Sheldon was gone the next morning. He had left a note thanking them both for trying to comfort him but said he needed some time alone. He and Amy were very similar in that way.

Sheldon spent the next few days at home in bed wrapped up in an old quilt Amy had made for him as a Christmas gift their first year of marriage. The panels of the quilt contained stitched representations of memorable times in their relationship ranging from the coffee shop where they first met to the birth of their children. Sheldon experienced a myriad of emotions each time he stopped to look those at those tangible reminders of his memories.

He experienced unfathomable joy and happiness when he saw the names of his son and daughter elegantly stitched on the blue and pink panels.

He experienced great sadness and grief as his fingers roamed over the panels of the early memories of their relationship. Back when he was too scared and too stubborn to let Amy in until finally he pushed her away one too many times and she left.

Most of all, while curled up in bed in the old quilt he cherished so much, he experienced an overwhelming sense of regret for pushing her away again and not knowing if he would ever get her back.

When Leonard brought Elliot home from being with his mom, Sheldon finally got out of bed. The guys talked about the situation but neither Leonard or Elliot would tell Sheldon where Amy was staying. Leonard knew Penny would kill him if he told and, although Elliot did not want to deceive his father, Amy had made him promise not to tell.

Sheldon could see how hard it was for his son to deal with all of the emotions involved with this separation so he did not push them. Instead, the three of them spent Elliot's last days of fall break together eating pizza and playing video games as a distraction for them all.

Elliot's time home went by too quickly and soon they were at the airport saying their good-byes. As Sheldon gave his son one final hug, Elliot whispered something in his ear.

"Look for Mom in the past Dad" he said. "It should come naturally to you."

And then he was gone.

As Sheldon watched Elliot disappear around the corner of the airport terminal, he made a life-changing decision. He decided to stop living with all of this regret and do something about it! He would find his wife. He would honor the promise he made to her long ago to never take her or their love for granted. He would bring Amy home.

Elliot's riddle mentioned the past so Amy must be somewhere she had been before. Sheldon knew it would be a place with lodging so he searched his eidetic memory for every place he knew she had stayed since he met her. He raced home from the airport. He was on a mission!

Sheldon began to document the list of destinations on the white board in the kitchen of the home he and Amy had shared for so many years. There were many places on his list but he narrowed them down to those within a day's drive of Pasadena.

Elliot had said "it should come naturally to him." At first, Sheldon assumed this meant things like science or video games and he began selecting destinations related his natural pursuits. He made several phone calls to various locations but Amy was not at any of them.

After going down several wrong paths, he finally wrote the last part of the riddle on the board thinking Elliot must have devised a code in the assortment of letters but as he wrote the word "naturally" he saw the word "nature."

"Of course!" Sheldon exclaimed to himself in the kitchen. There was only one match. A place with lodging that Amy had gone in the past, within a day's drive, and in nature. Now if Sheldon could only get there.

Sheldon started his drive doing the best he could to remember the way to the old cabin on Big Bear Lake that he, Amy, Penny and Leonard had stayed at decades ago. It was raining and already dark out, but he had to try to get there tonight. He could wait no longer to be with Amy. Finally the road looked familiar and he knew he was going to make it. What he did not knew was that a deer would jump out suddenly in front of his car and cause him to go into the ditch.

Both he and the deer were fine but his car was stuck. Sheldon tried his cell phone but must have been in a "dead" spot and had no service. He began to walk. He was not sure how long he had been walking but it felt like forever when he finally saw the cabin and Amy's car. He approached the cabin knowing it was the middle of the night but he did not care. He had to see his wife. He knocked on the door.


	13. Chapter 13

**He approached the cabin knowing it was the middle of the night but he did not care. He had to see his wife. He knocked on the door.**

* * *

And now Sheldon was sitting in a chair warming by the fire staring at his wife. Amy was sitting up on the sofa with her mug of tea in her hands looking out towards the window. He knew he was making her uncomfortable with his silence but he just wanted to look at her. He honestly had not known when he would see her again.

"How did you find me?" Amy asked him finally breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Elliot" he said simply never ceasing to look at her. "But he never told me" he explained. "He just gave me a hint. He told me to look for you in the past and that the answer would come "naturally" to me" he said making quotes in the air around the word naturally. "He is a smart kid" Sheldon acknowledged.

Amy just nodded. Of course, he was. He was just like his father, she thought.

"Why are you soaking wet?" she asked. It had been raining but nothing that would have drenched him this much.

"A deer jumped in front of the car and it went into the ditch a couple of miles back" he answered. "The car is okay but I could not get it out of the ditch so I walked the rest of the way in the rain."

"Oh Sheldon" Amy said and turned to face him. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly.

"No, no. I am fine" he said and stood to sit down next to her on the sofa still with his towels around him.

Things got quiet again after he sat down next to her. Amy did not move away from him but she did not move closer to him either. The air between them was so thick with unspoken tension, that even Sheldon could easily recognize the emotion. He quietly finished drying his hair with the towels and then picked up his mug from the table. He sat for a moment sipping his tea and racked his brain for the best way start the conversation that so desperately needed to take place between them.

Suddenly, he recalled them sitting exactly like this one night in this very same cabin many years ago. He had an idea. But would it work? he wondered. Taking a chance, Sheldon turned to face Amy, cleared his throat and spoke.

"Never have I ever… thought my wife was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen" he said and then he took a drink of tea. He drank because he was just following the rules of the game. Of course, he had always thought his wife was the most the beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Amy stared at him. What was he doing? she wondered.

"Never have I ever… driven myself crazy with desire for only my beautiful wife" he said and took another drink. He drank because Sheldon had never wanted anyone in that way other than Amy.

Amy continued to stare at him. She knew what he was doing now. He was recreating the game they played long ago when they came here with Penny and Leonard.

It had been raining, just like tonight, so Penny had suggested they all play the "Never Have I Ever" drinking game. In the game, someone says something they've never done, but if you have done it, you take a drink. Only it seems Sheldon was saying things now he had done to prove some kind of point she guessed.

After the other couple had gone to bed that night years ago, Sheldon and Amy continued to play the game on their own while sitting in these very same spots. It had been a happy time for them back then. It hadn't been very long since they had reconciled from their first break up and their relationship was finally moving forward. Sheldon was opening up more to Amy and they were finally in a good place.

After playing the game that night with harmless topics such as salting food and pushing elevator buttons, Sheldon and Amy turned to more amorous topics like French kissing and coitus positions and eventually ended up in a very steamy make-out session in front of the fire.

Amy remembered it all. She knew Sheldon did too.

He spoke again.

"Never have I ever…realized that I have been the worst husband in the world" he said sadly and took a drink.

"Sheldon" Amy said softly shaking her head.

Sheldon sat his mug down on the table and took Amy's as well. He took her hands in his as they faced each other.

"Amy" he began as he shifted in his seat. He was uncomfortable as his pants were still soaked through but he ignored them and continued anyway. This was important. He wanted, no needed, to tell Amy how he felt.

"You were right" he said. "This separation was not about other people, it was about us. It was about how I have been acting this year since Mom died" he sighed.

"Amy, I know people die. It is the natural order of things. I have experienced the death of those I loved too many times and I am just tired of it. Everyone I love or look up to goes away. I miss them. My grandparents, my parents, my idols, and I am terrified that someday– you will be gone too" he said sadly.

"I guess after Mom died and then the kids left, the gravity of it all was just too much for me. I did not want to feel anymore loss or pain so I just decided to not feel anything at all. I shut down and shut you out" he said.

"Amy, my mother and I did not agree on many things but we did agree that you were the best thing to ever happen to me" he voice cracked. "I promised you that first New Year's Day after we were married to never take you for granted. I am so sorry for forgetting my promise. That will not happen again. Please forgive me Amy. Please come home" he pleaded as he lowered his head and dropped his hands to his lap.

Amy's tears fell freely. She knew Sheldon had suffered from the loss of his mom this year. She was willing to do anything to support him but rather than let her help, he had pushed her away. She had already forgiven him for keeping his contact with Ramona a secret and jumping to the wrong conclusion about her and Dave. Could she forgive him for pushing her away and reverting back to his old neglectful ways?

Back then, she could have never imagined everything they would achieve together. They had been married for almost twenty years and had been blessed with two amazing children. They had wonderful friends who had become their true family. Sheldon had even become a Nobel laureate! But more than that, he had become an amazing husband and father.

Amy wiped her eyes and came to a decision. She picked up her mug from the table and spoke.

"Never have I ever…loved Dr. Sheldon Lee Cooper with all of my heart" she said and took a drink. As she told him in her wedding vows, it still amazed Amy that her love for him grew even stronger every day.

Sheldon gasped. His head swung up and he stared at her.

Amy spoke again.

"Never have I ever…wanted to be with him for the rest of my life" she smiled and took a drink. She wanted him to know that she definitely did not want to go through with The Separation Agreement.

Sheldon smiled back.

"I forgive you Sheldon" Amy said quietly. "I know how hard losing your mom was for you. You are an amazing husband and father. When you started ignoring me and pushing me away again, I was scared that I was losing you too. I am so sorry I left" she said.

Sheldon nodded and they both scooted closer to each other on the sofa.

Suddenly, she knew everything would be okay between them. It would take some time, as they still needed to discuss everything, especially keeping the lines of communication open in their marriage, but for right now all Amy wanted, no needed, was to show her husband how much she loved him. How much she missed him.

This time, Amy was the one who took a chance as she spoke again.

"Never have I ever…"she whispered seductively as she looked up at him through her eyelashes "wanted my sexy husband to make love to me all night" she said and took a small sip from her mug.

Sheldon's heart raced and his eyes darkened as he involuntarily licked his lips. He took her mug, sat it down on the table and took her face in his hands. He closed the small gap between them and kissed her passionately. He moved his hands through her hair and shrugged the towels from his shoulders. Amy wrapped her arms around him and drew him even closer.

Amy yelped when she felt the coldness of his wet pants on her leg. Sheldon leaned back and apologized. He stood and went to move the chair he had been sitting in earlier. He bent down to spread out the blankets in front of the fire. He turned to face Amy and removed his pants and underwear while his eyes never left hers.

This time Amy's heart raced and her eyes darkened. Sheldon held his arms out to her. She walked toward him. His strong hands untied her robe and pushed it off her shoulders. It fell silently to the floor behind her. Amy slowly pulled her nightgown over her head and tossed it on the sofa.

Sheldon watched her intently as she removed her underwear one leg at a time. Her movements were slow and calculating. Sheldon felt a heat that had nothing to do with the blazing fire behind them.

Even after all of these years of marriage and two kids later, Sheldon desired Amy physically just as much as ever, maybe more. She looked thinner to him, but still as beautiful as always. Amy was still his and that was all that mattered now.

Even though she was completely nude, for the first time since she came to the cabin, Amy wasn't cold. In fact, she felt warm all over as her eyes roamed over her naked husband's form. He hadn't changed much over the years and she still wanted him, needed him.

She put her arms around him and hugged him close. She rested her head on his chest. Sheldon put his arms around her and gently kissed the top of her head.

All at once, the joy of finally being reunited with his wife and feeling her in his arms was too overwhelming for him. The feelings of pain and loss that he had been trying to ignore for so long hit him with full force. His mom leaving, his kids, and Amy. His wonderful, beautiful, smart, magnificent Amy. He had almost lost her forever. Sheldon let out a quiet cry and sank on his knees to the floor in front her. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her.

Amy held Sheldon close as his head settled onto her stomach and small sobs racked through his body. She held him tightly and whispered words of comfort to him as he cried. She wanted him to know it was okay to feel what he was feeling and she wanted him to know that she would never leave him again. Ever.

After a moment, Amy stepped back and lifted his chin to look at him. There were tears in his eyes and she bent down to kiss them away. How could she have ever doubted his love for her no matter what they were going through at the time? she wondered sadly.

Sheldon closed his eyes as he felt her sweet lips on them. Soft "I love yous" were exchanged and he reached up and placed his hand on her neck pulling her face gently downward to meet his own. He moaned as her lips moved to meet his and she put her arms around him and lowered herself down on her knees in front of him never ceasing their kiss. The intensity of their kiss increased as Sheldon shifted them both to lay down on the soft plush blankets in front of the fire.

His lips moved down to her neck and chest and then he moved his mouth to her breast. It was Amy's turn to moan as Sheldon's tongue began to roll her nipple over and over again as it peaked to its highest point. Sheldon's hand travel down her body and stopped when he reached her most intimate area. His long fingers opened her slick folds and he began to pleasure her first with one finger and then another.

Amy's hips thrust upward as she began to pant and moan in ecstasy from his movements. He moved his mouth to her ear and softly spoke of her beauty and his desire for her. He boldly told her how touching her and loving her made him feel both emotionally and physically. Sheldon's powerful words and expert movements sent Amy over the edge and he watched her beautiful face as her orgasm exploded and she screamed out his name.

Amy kissed him passionately and reached down to stroke him feeling the silky hardness of his manhood. He moaned at her touch and knew he could not last long with the way her hand was moving on him. He gently stopped her and moved to raise himself up over her. After years of being intimate, Sheldon never tired of the way it felt every time he first joined his wife when making love. He threw his head back and moaned again as he slowly entered her and felt her heat and wetness surround him. She was glorious.

Sheldon began to move as slowly as he could building up to a steady rhythm. Amy hands roamed over his back and shoulders as she wrapped her legs around him causing him to go even deeper. He bent his head down and smashed his mouth on hers igniting a frenzied kiss. He could not stop himself as his thrusts went deeper and faster. Although, he could easily recall each and every time he and Amy had made love, this time felt different. Every kiss, every touch, every time he sank deeper into her he felt the life coming back to him. He felt whole again.

Amy gasped for air as her back arched and she screamed his name again. Sheldon felt her orgasm as her inner walls tighten around him. "Amy" he said as he felt the release of his own orgasm and he thrust deeply one more time.

Eventually, they moved and Sheldon held her close. As they gazed into each other's eyes, each one relishing in their sweet reunion, Amy no longer saw the vacant look that had been ever present in her husband's eyes for so long this year. Instead, she saw nothing but a look of love.

The couple wrapped themselves up in the warm blankets by the fire, and finally at peace for the first time in weeks, quickly fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: And this is the scene that has always stayed with me from The Big Bear Precipitation episode (with a little embellishment) :)**


	14. EPILOGUE:

**Epilogue**

* * *

After arranging a tow for his car, Sheldon and Amy had returned together to Pasadena the day after he had found her in the cabin. Amy moved back into their home immediately and they took full advantage of their time alone while the kids were still away at school.

In addition to their "alone time" activities, Sheldon and Amy also took the time to just talk and get to know each other again. Each spoke frankly about their wants and needs for the relationship. They agreed to be more open and honest with each other about how they were feeling instead of dealing with issues silently on their own. Things were finally back on track for them and their marriage.

Both were sleeping and eating better and they had even decided to host Thanksgiving at their place that year. Penny and Leonard joined them and Elliot came home from college for Thanksgiving break. He was thrilled that he did not have to split up his time between two parents like the last time he came home. Although Marie remained in England for the holiday, Sheldon and Amy shared as much as they could of the day's activities with her remotely. Even though she wasn't there in person, she didn't mind too much. It was enough just for her to see her parents so happy and back together!

Amy and Penny planned their ritual day after Thanksgiving shopping trip in search of "Black Friday" sales, and for the first time ever, Sheldon had asked to accompany them. He reasoned with them that he did not want to spend any more time away from Amy, so of course, they both agreed to his unusual request. He dragged a reluctant Leonard and Elliot with him, in spite of their repeated protests.

About half-way through the shopping trip, the guys took off on their own and when the girls finally found them, they caught them smiling and laughing as they made their way out of a jewelry store. Penny and Amy didn't ask any questions but just quietly smiled at the possibility of an unknown shiny trinket making an appearance under each of their Christmas trees this year.

When December 10 rolled around, Sheldon and Amy made the long trip again to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony as part of Sheldon's final year serving on the nomination committee. The ceremony and reception went off without a hitch and the tired couple finally began to make their way back to their hotel room.

Amy had noticed that Sheldon had been very quiet all evening. He seemed very nervous for some reason even though his duties for the committee were complete. No more speeches, no more schmoozing, no more of the social conventions he so strongly disliked. Why would he be nervous now? she wondered.

Amy began to wonder if being here in Sweden was too upsetting for him. She was the first to admit that it wasn't easy to be in the same place they had been a mere two months ago when the horrible fight between them had almost led to a permanent separation. Amy looked at Sheldon closely to gauge his reaction as they exited the elevator and walked down the hallway toward their room.

"Sheldon, are you okay?" she asked when they got to the room. He didn't say anything but unlocked the door letting her enter in front of him.

"Listen" she said as she entered the room and turned on the lights. "I know we both have some bad memories of this place but I don't want to think about those okay. As far as I am concerned, we are beyond all of that and…Sheldon?" she questioned as she turned around and saw he was not behind her.

Sheldon had stopped and still stood in the doorway of the room.

"Amy" Sheldon gulped nervously as his heart started to race. He just wanted everything to be perfect.

"You are right" he continued. "We do have some bad memories here but I would like to replace those bad ones with happy memories."

The next thing Amy knew, Sheldon had plopped down on one knee in front of her in the doorway and held out a ring box in his hand.

Amy's mouth hung open as she stared at her husband of almost twenty years. Although both were significantly better dressed, it seems he was recreating his first marriage proposal from the doorway of her room at Princeton so many years ago. When had her husband become such a wonderful hippy-dippy romantic? she wondered in awe.

Sheldon's heart continued its rapid thumping as he stared at his beautiful wife in her ballgown. He had been planning this second proposal for a while. With the help of his son and best friend, he had purchased a beautiful diamond band and had decided Stockholm would be the perfect place to propose again. While such a romantic gesture was typically out of his comfort zone, he had wanted to show Amy how much he loved her and how committed he was to her and their marriage.

"Amy Farrah Fowler-Cooper. Will you marry me? Again" he asked with such love and devotion in his eyes.

Amy's mouth closed and she broke out in a glorious smile. She walked to the doorway, looked down at him with the same love and devotion, and simply said, "yes".

* * *

And that is how Sheldon now found himself with windblown hair, wearing a tuxedo, standing on the side of a cliff overlooking Big Bear Lake at sunset on a beautiful day in May. He and Amy were renewing their vows on their twentieth wedding anniversary.

Sheldon had agreed, albeit reluctantly, to the outdoor wedding that Amy had always wanted but did not get their first time around. Their friends and family had made the trip and everyone was staying in various cabins on the lake while Sheldon and Amy were staying in their "special" cabin.

Elliot stood next to him and looked very handsome in a similar tuxedo. He really was the spitting image of Sheldon when he was younger. Elliot had finished his first year of Harvard strong and was home for the summer. Although, he had mentioned a young lady he had met this past spring that he would like to go back and visit at least once before the fall.

Harp music began to fill the air and Sheldon watched as Marie began to make her way down the aisle distinguished by simple white chairs of guests set up on either side. She looked beautiful in her sleeveless blue dress. She had done well in her fall semester abroad at Oxford and continued to thrive now that she was back home. She was very excited to start her senior year of high school in the fall.

The music changed and the guests began to stand as the bride made her way down the aisle. Amy took Sheldon's breath away when he finally saw her. Her dress could not have been more different than the first one she wore twenty years ago, but she looked just as beautiful to him.

Today she wore a simple long white sleeveless gown with a beautiful tulle white wrap covering her shoulders. Her hair was up, and although she did not wear a veil, she did have on her signature tiara. She made a radiant bride.

Leonard and Penny performed the ceremony together and they talked about all of the crazy times they had shared with their friends over the years. Their stories brought both laughter and tears and the ceremony was a touching tribute to the life that Amy and Sheldon had built together.

When it came time for the renewal of their vows, Amy and Sheldon faced each other and joined hands.

"Sheldon, first, thank you for today. I know an outdoor wedding does not necessarily come "naturally" to you" Amy began.

Sheldon beamed as he understood her secret nod to Elliot's hint he gave Sheldon last year when he was searching to find her in the cabin. The time when he had almost lost her forever.

"Second, I was correct the last time we did this when I said I didn't know what the future would hold for us. I honestly could have never imagined how many wonderful moments we would share together. We are truly blessed" she smiled.

"And lastly, as happy as I have been these past twenty years of marriage, I know that I've never been happier than I am, in this moment, marrying you again today" she finished as she gave his hand a squeeze.

Sheldon was visibly moved by her words and needed a moment to compose himself. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Amy, I always thought that if we ever did this again, I would be better prepared than the last time. I thought I would know the words to say but somehow, I do not" Sheldon paused for a moment.

"Even after all of these years, you overwhelm me. Still in a good way" he smiled.

"I guess, the only thing I can say is that I will continue to spend my life showing you how much I not only love you, but respect you, cherish you and honor you. You are my life, my world, my everything. I love you Amy" he said as he squeezed her hand in return.

"I love you too" Amy whispered back to him too choked up for words.

Everyone was too choked up for words upon hearing such heartfelt vows, but eventually the Hofstadters got through the rest of the ceremony and then the real party started. There was food and champagne and music and dancing and the reception continued well into the night. Marie and Elliot couldn't help but smile as they watched their parents dance to a slow song together. For a while there, they were not sure if their mom and dad were going to make it! But a little bit older and a whole lot wiser, Sheldon and Amy had never been happier.

After the party started winding down, the happy couple went to their cabin to start their second honeymoon. Although it wasn't cold out, they started a fire and snuggled up on the sofa with two glasses of chilled champagne. They tried to play another round of "Never Have I Ever" but neither one of them could think of anything truly important to them that they had not yet accomplished. Their lives were fulfilled and served as a testimony to the unexpected love between them that began in a little coffee shop so many years ago.

And although they may have not been able to play their little drinking game that night, they both ended the night as winners, wrapped up in each other's loving arms, the only place they ever needed to be for the rest of their lives.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!**


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